NIRH Decries “End of Title X as We Know It”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2019
Contact: Noah Gardy, [email protected], 201-218-6310

Washington, DC – Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), released the following statement in response to Planned Parenthood’s decision to forfeit Title X funding after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for the Trump-Pence administration’s egregious “gag rule” to go into effect. The rule, which forces participating medical providers to withhold critical information from their patients about abortion care, represents an unprecedented effort to undermine Title X, a federal program that funds vital family planning services for low-income individuals.

“What we’re witnessing today is the end of Title X as we know it, which has long been a critical and successful family planning program,” said Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “As a result of the Trump-Pence Administration’s craven and cruel ‘gag rule,’ over 40 percent of the 4 million patients who receive care through Title X – most from low-income communities and communities of color – face the loss of essential reproductive health care including cervical and breast cancer screenings, contraception, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment.

“Make no mistake,” Miller continued, “The ‘gag rule’ forces Planned Parenthood and other Title X providers into an impossible position – potentially lie to their patients or potentially close their doors. This rule is part of a larger anti-abortion agenda to push abortion care even further out of reach for the millions of women who need it. Now is the time for states and cities to step in and mitigate this hateful policy by passing proactive legislation that advances reproductive health, rights, and justice.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health builds power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.